Office Christmas Party (2016)

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When you get right down to it, I'm generally game for a decent, if raunchy, Christmas comedy produced to please those of us who are not only looking for something a bit different, but a little more adult as well. The good ones are few and far between, however, and 2016's 'Office Christmas Party' is no exception. Despite promising trailers that made it seem like it could be comparable to 'The Night Before,' released the previous year, it didn't exactly deliver the goods, and turned out to be pretty forgettable.

With that said, it's my opinion, and I know a few people who enjoy it; it's not something I would hold against anyone. Upon this particular re-watch, I found that while it's still rough, it's not quite as terrible as I remember. It's one of those Christmas titles that has to be shown in the right light, at the right time, with the right people. For example, it's best left on in the background at a Christmas party while you're having drinks with close friends. I wouldn't say it's just something new to check out at any time leading up to the holiday.

Following the death of their father, Carol Vanstone (Jennifer Aniston) and her brother, Clay (T.J. Miller), respectively become the Interim CEO and the Chicago branch manager of Zenotek. One day, Carol visits the Chicago branch to go over things, only to reveal that they have failed to meet their quarterly quota. As a result, she demands cutting corners, which not only includes cancelling the annual office Christmas party but, worse, the branch's employees' Christmas bonuses. However, Clay, not wanting to let down his staff, has one more trick up his sleeve.

Along with the freshly divorced chief technology officer, Josh Parker (Jason Bateman), and their R&D chief, Tracey Hughes (Olivia Munn), Clay attempts to meet with financial guru Walter Davis (Courtney B. Vance) to secure a $14 million contract with his company, Data City. If they can land this contract, Carol will agree not to make such cuts. Despite Davis' positive feelings about Zenotek's product, he's reluctant to close the deal because he questions the company's corporate culture, having heard of recent layoffs and cuts.

As a result of Davis's reluctance, Clay's last-ditch effort to seal the deal is to invite him to their annual office Christmas party that he intends to throw behind Carol's back to show him that Zenotek's employee environment is, indeed, safe. If nothing else, he can show Davis a good time. And of course, as any trailer for the film shows, it's only a matter of time before the party goes full 'Project X' and gets just a little out of hand, which is where we get all of the comedy and shenanigans involving several side characters.

Really, the more interesting parts of the film actually involve said side characters, like the company's HR manager, Mary (Kate McKinnon) trying to keep the party relatively PG, or a geek named Nate (Karan Soni) who finds himself desperately hiring an escort to pose as his made-up girlfriend, or the kind-hearted Fred (Randall Park) who has a little trouble with how he wishes to be intimate, or Jeremy (Rob Corddry) who doesn't necssarily have an interesting side-story, but is Corddry at his most Corddry. All the side stories take center stage over the main plot and make the movie slightly entertaining.

While this isn't a film I feel I can recommend to just anyone, and for as bad as I still find it, I still think that, in the right mindset, this can make for a mildly entertaining movie for anyone in search of something a little more lowbrow and fun than your average Hallmark channel Christmas romance. As I said, it may take the right setting with the right people for it to come through as something decent. However, for as short as the somewhat raunchy Christmas movie list is, this is still one I'd put further towards the bottom of it. There are worse, though.

2/5

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